Article of repose for supporting the body of a person



June 16, 1959 F. F. SCHLIEPHACKE 2,890,743

ARTICLE OF REPOSE FOR SUPPORTING THE BODY OF A PERSON Filed Jan. 5, 1956 5 Sheets Sheet 1 INVENTOR. FRI mum: SCHLIEPHHCKE ATTORNEY June 16, 1959 F. F. SCHLIEPHACKE 2,890,743

ARTICLE OF REPOSE FOR SUPPORTING THE BODY OF A PERSON Filed Jan. 3, 1956 Sheets-Sheet 2 was I I28 144 '56 $80; :2:- I'Yb r I '45 184/ \\\ISO I54 I64 I20 16%!60. I66

INVENTOR. FRIDTJOF 5CHLIEPHHCJ 5 A frog/v5 Y June 16, 1959 F. F. SCHLIEPHACKE 2,

ARTICLE OF REPOSE FOR SUPPORTING THE BODY OF A PERSON Filed Jan. 3, 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet s 254 264 260 2% aeo INVENTOR. FRIDTJOF SCHLJ EPHHCKE ATTORNEY June 16, 1959 F. F. SCHLIEPHACKE 2,390,743

ARTICLE OF REPOSE FOR SUPPORTING THE BODY OF A PERSON Filed Jan. 3, 1956 V 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Y INVENTOR. FRIDTJOF SCHL I EPHHCKE A TTORNEY June 1 959 F. SCHLIEYPHACKE 2,390,743

ARTICLE OF REPOSE FOR SUPPORTING THE BODY OF A PERSON Filed Jan. 3, 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet'5 IINVENTOR. F-RIDTJOF SCHLIEPHACKE A 77'ORNE Y Patented June 16, 1959 filice ARTICLE or REPOSE i on SUPPORTING THE BODY or A PERSON Fridtjof F. Sehliephacke, Berlin-Dahlem, Germany Application January 3, 1956, Serial No. 557,178

3 Claims. (Cl. 155-106)- This invention relates to articles of furniture and more particularly to articles of repose for supporting the body of a person wherein a unit including a seat and back-rest is rockably mounted on a support and wherein a mechanism is arranged for controlling the movements of a swingable leg-rest in dependence on the rocking movements of said unit.

An object of the invention is to provide in articles of repose of above described type an improved mechanism for controlling the movements of a swingable leg-rest.

Another object of the invention is to improve on the construction of articles of repose for supporting the body of a person as now customarily made.

Other objects and structural details of the invention will be apparent from the following description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a reclining armchair according to the invention, a portion of a side wall being broken away,

Fig. 2 is a side elevational' view of the chair shown in Fig. l, a portion of a side wall being broken away, the movabie elements of said chair however beingin the extreme reclined position,

Figs. 3 and 4 illustrate another embodiment of a reclining armchair according to the invention in the sitting and extreme reclined positions respectively, a portion of a side wall being broken away,

Figs. 5 and 6 are side elevational views of a further embodiment of a reclining armchair according to the invention in the sitting and extreme reclined positions re spectively, a portion of a side wall being broken away,

Figs. 7 and 8 are side elevational views of still another embodiment of a reclining armchair according to the invention with its movable elements in the sitting and extreme reclined positions respectively, a portion of a side wall being broken away, and

Figs. 9 and 10 are side elevational views of a further embodiment of a reclining armchair according to the invention with its movable elements in the sitting position and extreme reclined position respectively, a portion of a side wall being broken away.

Referring now to Figs. 1 and 2, generally indicates a support comprising side walls 22' and 24 connected with each other by cross bars 26.

28 generally indicates a unit comprising a seat 30 and a back-rest 32 rigid with each other. On each side of the chair the lower end of a front guiding link 34 is pivoted to the support 241 at 36 while the upper end of said front guiding link 34 is pivoted to the seat 30' at 38; Furthermore on each side of the chair a rear guidinglink 40 is pivoted to the support 20 at 42. The upper end of said rear guiding link 40 is pivoted to the unit 28 at 44. Thus the unit 28 is rockably mounted on the support 20 by means of said guiding links 34 and 40 for movements from the sitting position shown in Fig. 1 into an extreme reclined position shown in Fig. 2 and vice versa. The

sitting position of the unit 28 is limited by a stop 46 arranged on the support 20 for abutting engagement with a downward extension 48 of the rear guiding link 40; The extreme reclined position of the unit 28 is limited by another stop 50' arranged on the support 20 for abutting engagement with the downward extension 48 of the rear guiding link 40;

On each side of the chair a lever 52 is swingably mounted onthe support 26 at 54. A leg-rest 56 is rigidly connected' with each of said levers 52in any suitable manner. If desired the frame of the leg-rest 56 may be integral with the lever 52.

Furthermore on each side of the chair a double-armed lever 58 having a short arm 60 and a long arm 62 is swingably mounted on the support 20 at 64. A first link 66 is pivoted to the short arm 60 of the double-armed lever 58 at 68 and to the rear guiding link 40 at 44 in coaxial alignment with the pivotal connection between the rear guiding link 40 and the unit 28. Furthermore a second link 70 is pivoted to the long arm 62 of the double-armed lever 58 at 72 and to the lever 52 at 74. Thus upon a rocking movement of the unit 28 from one position into another one the leg-rest 56 is swung about the pivot 54 on the support 20 by means of the linkage 66, 58, 70 connected to the unit 28 at 44 and to the lever 52 carrying the leg-rest 56 at 74.

It will be noted that in the sitting position shown in Fig. 1 the rear guiding link 40 is inclined forwardly so as to prevent an undesire'd rearward tilting of the unit 28. Furthermore as shown in Fig. 2, the front guiding link 34 is still in a somewhat forwardly inclined position when the unit 28 is in. the extreme reclinedv position. so as to assure a return of the movable members of the chair into the sitting position when desired. The leg-rest 56 and its controlling. mechanism 52, 70', 58, 66 act as biasing means for facilitating the return of the movable members of the chair from the reclined position into the sitting position.

According to. the embodiment shown in Figs. 3 and 4, again the unit 128 comprising the seat 130 and back-rest 132 is rockably mounted on the support by means of the front guiding link 134 and rear guiding link 140.

The means connecting the leg-rest 156 with a member of the article for a swingable mounting of said leg-rest 156 differ from the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 and 2. According to Fig. 3 a first pair of links 176, 178 is pivoted to the seat 139 and the leg-rest 156 at 180 and 182 respectively and a second pair of links 184, 186 is pivoted to the seat and said leg-rest 156 at 188 and 190 respectively. The link 176 and the link 186 of said two pairs of links are pivotally connected with each other at 192. Thus the leg-rest 156 is swingably mounted on the unit 128 by means of said connecting means 176, 178, 184, 186.

Again a double-armed lever 158 is swingably mounted on the support 120 at 164. The short arm 160 of said double-armed lever 158 is pivoted at 168 to one end of a link 166, the other end of which is pivoted at 145 to a point of the rear guiding link 140 between the pivotal connections 142 and 144 of the latter and in alignment with said two pivotal connections 142 and 144. The long arm 162 of the double-armed lever 158 is pivoted at 172 to one end of a. link 170, the other end of which is pivoted at 175 to the link 176 of the mechanism connecting the leg-rest 156 with the seat 130.

Upon a movement of the unit 128 from the sitting position shown in Fig. 3 into the reclined. position shown in Fig. 4 the leg-rest 156 is brought into the position shown in said Fig. 4 by means of the controlling mechanism 16.6, 158, operatively engaged with the guiding link 140 and link 176 of the connecting means ber 3 tween the leg-rest 156 and seat 130. The sitting position and the extreme reclined position of the movable members of the chair are again limited by stops 146 and 150 respectively arranged on the support 120 for abutting engagement with an extension 148 of the rear guiding link 140.

According to the embodiment shown in Figs. 5 and 6, again the seat-back-rest unit 228 is rockably mounted on the support 220 by means of the front guiding link 234 and the rear guiding link 240, the rear guiding link 240 being in the shape of a substantially triangular plate.

The leg-rest 256 is swingably mounted on the unit 228 through the medium of two pairs of links 276, 278 and 284, 286 which are interconnected with each other by a pivot 293 between an extension of the link 278 and the link 284.

The short arm 260 of the double-armed lever 256 swingably mounted on the support 220 at 264 is pivoted to one end of the link 266. The other end of said link 266 is pivoted to the guiding link 240 at 245 at a point between the pivotal connections 242 and 244 of the rear guiding link 240, said pivot 245 being in front of a line passing through the center of the pivots 242 and 244. The long arm 262 of the double-armed lever 258 is pivoted at 272 to one end of a link 270 the other end of which is pivoted at 275 to the link 276 of the connecting means connecting the leg-rest 256 with the seat 230. The sitting position of the movable members of the chair shown in Fig. 5 is limited by a stop 246 arranged on the support 220 for abutting engagement with the rear guiding link 240 while the'extreme reclined position shown in Fig. 6 is limited by a stop 250 arranged on the support 220 for abutting engagement with said rear guiding link According to the embodiment shown in Figs. 7 and 8, the unit 328is rockably mounted on the support 320 by means of the front guiding link 334 and rear guiding link 340, the latter again being in the shape of a substantially triangular plate the apex of said plate however being arranged at the rear side thereof.

The leg-rest 356 is swingably mounted on the support by means of the pairs of links 376, 378 and 384, 386. The leg-rest is pivoted to the links 378 and 386 at spaced points, the links 376 and 386 are pivotally connected with each other at an intermediate point thereof, and the links 376 and 384 are pivoted to the support 320 at 381 and 389 respectively.

The short arm 360 of the double-armed lever 358 swingably mounted on the support 320 at 364 is again pivoted at 368 to one end of a link 366, the other end of which is pivoted at 345 with the rear guiding link 340 at a point between the pivotal connections 342 and 344 of the rear guiding link 340, said point 345 being arranged to the rear of a straight line drawn through the center points of the pivots 342 and 344. The long arm 362 of the double-armed lever 358 is pivoted at 372 to one end of a link 370, the other end of which is pivoted at 377 to the link 384 of the-linkage 376, 378, 384, 386. Thus, again, the leg-rest 356 is displaced in dependence on rocking movements of the unit 328 through the controlling mechanism 366, 358, 370 connected with the rear guiding link 340 and the connecting means 376,

378, 384, 386. The sitting and extreme reclined positions are again limited by stops 346 and 350 respectively.

According to the embodiment shown in Figs. 9 and 10, the seat and back-rest unit 428 is rockably mounted on the support 420 in the following manner: On each side of the chair a front guiding link 434 is pivoted to the support 420 at 436 and to the seat 430 of the unit 428 at 438, Furthermore on each side of the chair the support 420 is provided with a slot 494. A pin 496 attached to the unit 428 is slidably engaged with said slot shown in Fig. 10. The sitting position is limited by an engagement of the pin 496 with the left-hand end of the slot 494 while the extreme "reclined position is limited by an engagement of the pin 496 with the right-hand end of said slot 494.

On each side of the chair a lever 452 is swingably mounted on the seat 430 at 498. A leg-rest 456 is rigidly connected with said lever 452.

The short arm 460 of a double-armed lever 458 swingably mounted on the support 420 at 464 is pivoted at 468 to one end of a link 466. The other end of said link 466 is rotatably engaged with the pin 496 mounted on the unit 428. The long arm 462 of the double-armed lever 458 is pivoted at 472 to one end of a link 470, the other end of which is pivoted at 474 to the lever 452 carrying the leg-rest 456.

When the unit 428 is rocked from the sitting position shown in Fig. 9 into the reclined position shown in Fig. 10 the pin 496 sliding along the slot 494 actuates the link 466 whereby through the medium of the double armed lever 458 and the link 470 the leg-rest 456 is brought into the position shown in Fig. 10.

I have described preferred embodiments of my invention but it is understood that this disclosure is for the purpose of illustration and that various omissions or changes in shape, proportion and arrangement of parts, as well as the substitution of equivalent elements for those herein shown and described may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

' If desired locking means may be provided in each embodiment of a reclining chair for holding the movable elements of the chair in a desired position.

Furthermore, if desired, the chairs equipped with front guiding links and rear guiding links may have two front guiding links (for example links corresponding to the links 34 of Fig. 1), one link arranged on each side of the chair, and a single rear guiding link (for example a link corresponding to the links 40 of Fig. 1) arranged substantially in the center of the chair. In such a case there will be only one linkage (for example links corresponding to links 66, 58, 70 of Fig. 1) connecting the rear guiding link with the means controlling the leg-rest.

What I claim is:

1. In a reclining chair, a support, a body-supporting unit including a seat and back-rest rigid with each other, front guiding means and rear guiding means spaced from each other and each mounting said unit on said support for movement of said unit relative to said support between a forward position and a rearward position, a legrest, linkage means swingably mounting said leg-rest on said chair at the forward end of said seat for movement of said leg-rest between a retracted position beneath said seat and an extended position forwardly of and substantially at the level of said seat, a double-armed lever, pivot means mounting said double-armed lever intermediate its ends on said support with said doublearmed lever presenting a depending short arm on one side of said pivot and an upstanding long arm on the other side of said pivot, a first link operatively connected with said rear guiding means and said depending short arm, and a second link operatively connected with said long arm and said linkage means, said short arm being drawn rearwardly in response to rearward movement of said body-supporting unit, the second link and said long arm forming a folded link pair defining a rearwardly-directed acute angle in the forward position of the unit, and moving to a position in substantial end-toend alignment wherein said second link and long arm form an upwardly-directed supporting arm in response to rearward movement of said short arm, whereby short rearward movement of said unit is translated into a long raising movement of said leg-rest.

2. In a reclining chair, a support, a body-supporting unit including a seat and back-rest rigid with each other,

a front guiding link and a rear guiding link spaced from each other and each pivoted at its lower end on said support and at its upper end on said seat for movement of said unit in a substantially horizontal plane between a forward position and a rearward position, a leg-rest, linkage means swingably mounting said leg-rest on said chair at the forward end of said seat for movement of said leg rest between a retracted position beneath said seat and an extended position forwardly of and substantially at the level of said seat, a double-armed lever, pivot means mounting said double-armed lever intermediate its ends on said support with said double-armed lever presenting a depending short arm on one side of said pivot and an upstanding long arm on the other side of said pivot, a first link connecting with said rear guiding link and said short arm, and a second link connecting said long arm and said linkage means, said short arm being drawn rearwardly by said first link in response to rearward movement of said rear guiding link, the second link and said long arm forming a folded link pair defining a rearwardly-directed acute angle in the forward position of the unit, and moving to a position in substantial end-toend alignment wherein said second link and long arm form an upwardly-directed supporting arm in response to rearward movement of said short arm, whereby short rearward movement of said unit is translated into a long forward movement of said long arm for moving said leg-rest to its extended position.

3. In a reclining chiar, a support, a body-supporting unit including a seat and a back-rest rigid with each other, a front guiding link and a rear guiding link spaced from each other and each mounting said unit on said support for movement of said unit in a substantially horizontal plane between a forward position and a rearward position, a leg-rest, linkage means swingably mounting said leg-rest on said chair at the forward end of said seat for movement of said leg-rest between a retracted position beneath said seat and an extended position forwardly of and substantially at the level of said seat, a double-armed lever pivotally mounted intermediate its ends to the support adjacent the forward end of the seat, said double-armed lever having an upstanding long arm and a depending short arm, a first link connected at one end to said short arm and extending rearwardly and upwardly therefrom, the other end of said link being connected to the upper portion of said rear guiding link, and a second link connecting said upstanding long arm to 5 said linkage means, the upper end of said rear guiding link moving in a substantially horizontal rearward path upon movement of said unit to its rearward position, thereby drawing said depending short arm rearwardly and moving said upstanding long arm forwardly, whereby short rearward movement of said unit is translated into a long forward and upward movement of said leg-rest.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,276,053 Luckhardt et al Mar. 10, 1942 2,302,387 Greeno et a1 Nov. 17, 1942 2,660,225 Luckhardt Nov. 24, 1953 2,664,942 Spear Jan. 5, 1954 2,693,845 Hofiman Nov. 9, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent Noo 2 890 743 June is 1959 Fridtjof Fa Schliephacke It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

In the grant lines. 1 to 3 for "Fridtjof F I Sehliephaclue of Ber1in-=-Dah1em Germany, read Fridtjof F- Schliephacke of Berlin-Dahlem Germany assignor to Anton Lorenz of Ocean Riolge, Boynton Beach Florida lfi'ne 12 for "Fridtjof FD Schliephacke his heirs" read Anton Lorenz his heirs in the heading to the printed speeificiation line 4 for "'Fridtjof F. Schliephacke Berlim-Dahlem Germany" read Fridtjof F0 Schliephacke Berlin Dahlem Germany assignor to 7 Anton Lorenz, Ocean Ridge Boynton Beaczm Flag Signed and sealed this 3rd day of April 1962.

(SEAL) Attest:

ERNEST Wu SWIDER DAVID La LADD Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patent 

